WRITING DIALOGUE IN YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVE A Few Pointers

Why Dialogue?  It helps bring that characters to life-- we get a better feeling for who they are (characterization!)  Makes a narrative more realistic to the reader …which is good because the incident IS REAL!

How to write dialogue  Enclose each person’s exact words in quotation marks. Begin a new paragraph for each new speaker: “Come on, buddy, you can do it!” I encouraged, pounding the table. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6….come on….5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” “Done!” he shouted, and ran out the door laughing all the way to the neighbor’s house. The next day we….. *Notice that all punctuation goes inside your quotations marks!

Dialogue should be:  Realistic: write how people actually talk…it’s okay to use slang! Example: “I cannot believe that, you must be kidding me!” Vs. “No way, you’re kiddin’ me.” AND “Yes, is that acceptable to you?” Vs. “Yeah, is that cool?”  Written in present tense

Let’s Practice!  Fix the following paragraph so it’s in the correct format. How can you organize it so that it makes sense and so we know which character is speaking?

Fix this! HELP ME! What’s that, Jenny asked, panic rising in her throat hanging out of his mouth? It was thin and delicate. And gold. Oh I said. No sudden moves, she ordered, her voice dropping to a whisper. We both froze. Okay, boy, it’s all right I coaxed like a hostage negotiator on a SWAT team. We’re not mad at you. Come on now. We just want the necklace back. Instinctively, Jenny and I began to circle him from opposite directions, moving with glacial slowness. It was as if he were wired with high explosives and one false move would set him off. Easy, Marley, Jenny said in her calmest voice. Easy now. Drop the necklace and no one gets hurt.

On your paper… RD due Thurs 1. Title 2. Dialogue? 3. Voice 4. First person 5. Single Incident 6. Sensory details 7. Normal, font